Conferences ask how Californians can adapt to fire-prone land

SAN DIEGO —— Every Southern California resident should learn to
prepare for wildfires, participants in a conference on fire safety
and fire ecology agreed Tuesday.

But how to enforce brush clearance around suburban and
backcountry homes and how to organize new communities to reduce
fire risk were contentious issues at the meeting, held at the San
Diego Natural History Museum.

About 50 firefighters, biologists, local building officials and
homeowners met at the museum in the first of four conferences on
"Living with Fire in Chaparral Ecosystems" that will be held this
month around Southern California. After visiting an exhibit on
wildfires at the museum, they heard brief presentations on homes
and home sites, ecology and community planning and followed each
with roundtable discussions.

Speakers sought to dispel various "myths" that have grown up
surrounding fire regulations and the history of fires in Southern
California.

For example, San Diego County firefighters have recommended that
homeowners clear 100 feet of brush around their homes since 1997.
However, clearing brush does not mean removing everything, said
conference organizer Muriel McElhinney.

Clearing land completely will promote erosion and increases the
likelihood that quickly growing and easily burning grasses will
invade the land, said McElhinney, who is a lecturer with the
natural history museum.

Inside the first 35 feet around a house, homeowners should plant
slow-growing fire-resistant ground cover. Outside that zone
extending out 100 feet, shrubs should be trimmed so that 50 percent
of the soil is shaded, she said.

Clearing brush is only one part of fire defense. Building
officials and firefighters said that a fire-resistant roof, boxed
eaves and well-designed vents help protect houses from flying
embers. Most "Class A" fire-resistant roofs are made of metal,
concrete, clay or slate.

"The key to fire resistance is the roof," said Scott Molloy, a
public policy specialist with the Building Industry Association of
San Diego. "Next comes the eaves and ventilation of the eaves, and
then exterior siding and windows."

Many houses in the October 2003 Cedar fire were ignited by
"ember attack" after the main wave of fire pushed through the
surrounding neighborhood, said Randy Lyle, division chief at the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Discussing fire-prone habitats, ecologist Rick Halsey called
attention to the increase in fire frequency over the last century
in California. Chaparral, the vegetation characteristic of
California's hillsides, is adapted to intermittent fires. But
chaparral is in danger of being replaced by non-native grasses if
it is assaulted by frequent fires, he said.

Southern California may be able to learn something about fire
safety from Australia, which has a similar climate and vegetation,
according to museum curator and former Forest Service Manager Anne
Fege.

In Australia, communities have protective U-shaped roads looping
around clusters of homes rather than a cul-de-sac with homes
surrounding it. The road forms a protective barrier against "ember
attack," she said.

Some meeting participants were skeptical that whether
Californians would want to radically redesign new suburbs to reduce
fire risk.

"Certainly we could design a fire-proof community," said Lyle.
"But who could afford to live there? And who would want to?"